Mechanical toy



D. N. STEWART AND J. L. WILLIAMS.

MECHANICAL TOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1920.

' Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

UNITED STAM ES PATENT OFFICE.

DOROTHY N. S EWART AND JOHN L. WILLIAMS, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS To ACADEMY CLUB TOY MAKING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNsYLvANIA, A GOPARTNER-SHIP CONSISTING or DOROTHY N. STEWART AND OTEY WILLIAMS,

MECHANICAL TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate t d F b 2 1922 Application filed February 6, 1920. Serial No. 356,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DOROTHY N. STEW- ART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofthe city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, and JOHN L. WILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State ofPennsylv'ania, have invented an Improvement in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is a specification.

' The present invention relates to an improvement in mechanical toys, one object being to provide a plunger mechanism wherebyan independent portion of the toy may be forcibly ejected froma recess therein by meanswhich may readily be adapted to the toy makers art.

.One embodiment of our invention is illustrated in thedrawing accompaying the present specification, the single figure of w hich is a longitudinal verticalv section through a toy shaped to simulate a miniature whale.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, one object has been to reproduce a mechanical rep resentation of a portion of the story of Jonah and the whale, although it is Obvious that the mechanism may readily be adapted to other uses. As shown in the drawing, a device embodying our invention may include a body portion 1 having a recess 2 intersecting a recess 3 at any desired position. A plunger l'may be mounted in the recess 3, the function of said plunger being to strike a projectile 5 or other similar independent member to forcibly eject the same from the open end of the recess 3. A coiled spring 6 may be interposed between the closed end of the recess 3'and the bottom of the plunger 4, said spring being normally held under com pression when the plunger is in retracted position. The plunger 4 may be provided with a longitudinally extending slot 7, the sides of which are adapted to embrace a fixed detent 8 which is arranged transversely across the recessand acts as a stop to limit the forward movement of the plunger 4 when the same is actuated by expansion of the spring 6.

Suitable plunger locking and releasing mechanism may include a yielding detent 9, here shown as a perforated plunger having a transverse opening 10 extending diametrically through said plunger.

. without obstruction.

A coiled spring 11 interposed between the bottom of the recess 2 and the base of the plunger or detent 9 operates to hold said detent in the path of plunger 4: so that the latter will press yieldingly against a portion of said detent.

The passageway 10 through the detent 9 is preferably of suitable size and shape to permit the plunger 4 to move therethrough The member 5 will also be of suitable size and shape to fit into the passageway 10. In the form of device illustrated in the drawing, the projectile 5 may be a hollow member enclosing a relatively heavy ball 12, free to move from; end to end of, the projectile. x

In operation, the apparatus thus far described may be set for use by inserting the pro ectile 5 into recess 3 and through the passageway 10 of the plunger 9, pressing said projectile against the forward end of the plunger 4, thus forcing said plunger back Into the recess 3 and permitting the plunger 9 to move forward in the recess 2 to such a position that the plunger 9 will'be interposed in the path of the plunger to lock the same in retracted position, at the same time holding the spring 6' under compression. By depressing the exposed end of plunger 9 against the pressure of spring 11, the plunger 9 may be moved sufiiciently to release plunger 4: so that the latter will be thrust forcibly into the passageway 10 and will strike the projectile 5 in such a way as to eject the same from the open end of the recess 3, which end in the illustrated embodiment of the invention may be made to simulate themouth of a whale.

If desired, the form of toy representing a I whale or great fish may be weighted at its posterior end in such a manner as to retain the forward end normally in elevated position when the toy is lying on the ground or on the floor. For this purpose, we show a relatively heavy portion 13 positioned in such a manner that the center of gravity of the complete toy will be located relatively toward the rear. WVhen the weighted construction is used, it is contemplated that the release of the projectile or the Jonah may be accomplished by pressing down the head of the toy against the ground or the floor and then quickly removing the manual pressure. Thus, the head of the whale or great fish will rear up and oscillate after the expulsion of the projectile.

We claim as our invention: 1 1. In' a toy, the combination of a body portion having intersecting recesses, a striking plunger arranged in one of said recesses, a spring operatively engaging one end of said plunger and normally held under com.- pression and a locking plunger arranged in the other recess and normally spring pressed to retain the striking plunger in retracted position, said locking plunger having a transverse passageway positioned to register with the striking plun 'er recess when the f locking plunger is moved to releasing position, and to permit spring actuated movement of the striking plunger therein.

2. In toy, the combination of a body portion having intersecting recesses, a striking plunger arranged in one of said recesses, a spring operatively engaging one end of said plunger and normally held under compression, a locking plunger arranged. in the other recess and normally spring pressed to retain the striking plunger in retracted position, and means for limiting the striking movement of-the striking plunger when the locking plunger is moved out of its normal retaining position.

In a toy, the combination of a body portion having intersecting recesses, a

spring pressed plunger arranged in one of said recesses, a yielding detent arranged in the other recess and normally holding said plunger in spring compressing position, said detent having one end exposed outside of i ithe body portion and. a passageway intermediate its ends and adapted to register with said plunger to permit the passage thereof when the detent is moved inwardly.

4:- In a toy, the combination of a body portion 7 having intersecting recesses, a spring pressed plun er arranged in one of saidrecesses, said p unger having a longitudinal slot, a fixed detent arranged transversely of the recess and positioned to engage said slot, a yielding detent positioned jectile from the recess in the body member..

6. In a toy, the combination of a body portion having intersecting recesses, a

spring pressed striking plunger in one of said recesses, a spring pressed lockmg pluniger in the other recess having a passageway and manually operated means extending through said passageway to move the striking plunger longitudinally while permitting longitudinal movement of the locking plunger 1nto locking position. v

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification.

DOROTHY N. sTEWARrQj 1 JOHNL. WILLIAMS. 1

Certificate of Correction. It is hereby certified that the assignee in Letters Patent N 0. 1,407,825, granted February 28, 1922, upon the application of Dorothy N. Stewart and John L.

Williams, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for an improvement in Mechanical Toys, was erroneously described and specified as Academy Club Toy Making, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a copartnership consisting of Dorothy N. Stewart and Otey Williams, Whereas said assignee should have been described and specified as Dorothy N; Stewart and Otey Williams, eo-partners doing business as Academy Club i Toy Makers, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as shown by the records of assignments in this ofiioe; and that the said Letters Patent should be read With this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 28th day of March, A. D., 1922.

[SEAL] KARL FENNING,

I Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

